Roche Invests 430 Million Swiss Francs at Sites in Germany and
Switzerland Centres for the Research, Development, Production and
Filling of Innovative Biopharmaceuticals to be Expanded

BASEL, Swizterland, Jan. 18, 2008--Roche has approved extensive
investment plans for its Penzberg, Mannheim and Kaiseraugst sites.
Around 280 million Swiss francs will be invested in expanding
biotech drug research and development activities at Penzberg. This
decision will ensure that the company's own value added chain is
exploited to its full potential in the development and production
of biopharmaceuticals mainly for oncology applications.

A total of some 150 million francs will be invested at Mannheim
and Kaiseraugst in expanding modern syringe filling capacities for
drugs such as Mircera, Pegasys or Actemra.

Commenting on the decision, Roche CEO and Chairman of the Board
of Directors, Franz B. Humer, said: "After conducting a thorough
evaluation of our production sites in many regions of the world and
taking on board local business conditions at each, we have decided
to make investments at these three sites in Germany and
Switzerland. With our biopharmaceuticals heavily in demand, this
step will both safeguard and expand production. Investments like
this are very much long term in nature and they create hundreds of
jobs in and around the company. It is therefore essential that a
stable, industry-friendly environment be maintained in the long
term".

The decision means that Roche's investment in Pharma production
equipment in the last five years has totalled around 1 billion
Swiss francs (about 600 million euros) each in Germany and in
Switzerland, resulting in the creation of several hundred new
jobs.

The Roche Group - a pioneer in the biotechnology sector
Roche has invested in biotechnology from the outset, identifying
important trends and technologies as they have emerged. Research
has been pursued in the key areas of genetics, genomics and
proteomics, and cutting-edge technologies - monoclonal antibodies,
PCR and molecular genetic tests - have been developed to permit the
broad application of biotechnology in medicine.

The Roche Group is now a leading supplier of biotechnology-based
products for physicians and patients. Medicines and tests taking
the patient's individual genetic characteristics into account are
already available today.

Today, five of the Group's top ten pharmaceuticals are products
of biotechnological research; they account for around 45 per cent
of the Pharma Division's total sales. Measured by sales and
production capacities of biopharmaceuticals, the Roche Group is the
world's leading biotech company.

About Roche
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's
leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of
pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As the world's biggest biotech
company and an innovator of products and services for the early
detection, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, the
Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people's
health and quality of life. Roche is the world leader in in-vitro
diagnostics and drugs for cancer and transplantation, a market
leader in virology and active in other major therapeutic areas such
as autoimmune diseases, inflammation, metabolic disorders and
diseases of the central nervous system. In 2006 sales by the
Pharmaceuticals Division totalled 33.3 billion Swiss francs, and
the Diagnostics Division posted sales of 8.7 billion Swiss francs.
Roche has R&D agreements and strategic alliances with numerous
partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and
Chugai, and invests approximately 7 billion Swiss francs a year in
R&D. Worldwide, the Group employs about 75,000 people. For
further information please visit www.roche.com.

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